Tuesday, November 2, 2010
ADJUSTMENTS
I would first like to thank each of you for showing up and making the commitment to practice 19 days in November and also for taking the time to share your insight. Again, you can comment as much or as little as you like. Wow! What a morning....19 students (how fitting). I know this is a long stretch of practice for most of you who attended the workshop with Tim Feldmann this past weekend and I am very aware that most of you were "stretched to your limits" and feeling a bit sore and fatigued. I am delighted to see that everyone is honoring their bodies and doing what feels appropriate. So this brings me to an important subject in the ashtanga practice....Adjustments. How do you feel about adjustments or lack of adjustments? Did anything come up for you when Tim adjusted you this weekend and took you deeper in a posture than you are used to going? Or how about this morning, with 19 students I was not able to give everyone the same attention that I usually try to give. Does this bring anything up for you? How important are adjustments to the quality of your practice and how does your practice differ on days when you practice at home or during self practice with no teacher?
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I like it when the room is full. It inspires me to work harder and keep my focus. Yes---- I don't get adjusted as often and I do miss that. But since I am in it for the long haul, I don't focus on that and do not leave feeling short changed. For me, the practice is about taking the distractions, including not getting adjusted as often, and what comes up each day both physically and emotionally, and doing the practice and watching how I act and react. Each day is different, but the challenges remain the same: What does it take for me, today, to focus on my breathing and bandhas as I move through the asanas---- seeing if I can move deeper into the asana---can I start by practicing a little non-violence on my own body, and then discovering what can I take from these challenges that will assist me the rest of the day.
ReplyDeleteI always find the adjustments serve as a reminder of the challenges--- so they are an important part of my practice. The adjustments also serve the practical purpose of elongating my back and stretching the leg muscles. Whenever there is a guest teacher, I seems the adjustments go deeper. For instance, as I told some participants, during supta kurmasana, Tim introduced my left ankle bone to the back of my neck -- before Sunday it had only met the crown of my head. Wow!! There was a lot of efforting on my part and I lost my breath, my bandhas and almost my breakfast (but I kid!). While I appreciate the value in what happened: that even as I age, my body is in a better position to serve me than if I did not practice, I don't think I want to go through that effort every morning... So, when it happens its great and when it doesn't, I have plenty to work on that I don't leave thinking I missed something.
Practicing at home is much more claustrophobic even if I am alone in a rather large room. I am much more comfortable at the studio (even though I love my house and where I live). The smells, the sights and sounds of the studio and the other students all support the practice. I feel I can linger through the asanas at the studio and take my time. The studio is a safe space, which is probably the number one reason I keep showing up.
Chris
First of all, Tim was AWESOME. I only had one Mysore practice with him (and I'm so sorry I missed the rest of the workshop), but even in that short time I got a sense of his deeply intuitive analysis and understanding of the body. His adjustments were deep (I felt my feet on the back of my head in Supta Kurmasana - a first!) and... somehow unusual. You could tell from the way he put his hands on your body that he was processing its unique qualities - like a doctor diagnosing a patient almost. That's not the perfect analogy. I can't quite put my finger on it, but he has a very special talent.
ReplyDeleteRelative to adjustments in general: I have similar feelings to Chris. More adjustments one day, fewer the next - no big deal. It all seems to even out. It's been interesting to me in my 9 months of Mysore practice to become aware of the importance placed on adjustments. I think of them as sort-of the icing on the cake - just moving through the practice on my own in company with others is terrific.
That said, I hate practicing at home! Conditions are not great (too cold, mushy rugs) and it is very, very hard for me to motivate myself without the energy of others around. I think it's all part of an evolution in the practice; I believe the further along you get the more able you are able to have a good practice independent of conditions. I'm just not there yet.
I am fairly new to yoga, having begun only a year ago to help control my "monkey mind". I actively work to keep my obsessive tendencies in check with my practice (kind of a catch-22 since this practice totally enables my brand of obsessive tendencies) and so far, so good. Hence why I have an ongoing commitment to not practice everyday.
ReplyDeleteI see the adjustments as improvements to my form that lead to proper execution of the asana. Having hyper mobility in my joints, adjustments have yet to be challenging or uncomfortable, but rather more of a way to keep me honest. As the series has started to become more second-nature, the adjustments serve as a reminder to put in that extra effort and also to make sure I am channeling the energy to the right area.
The days I practice at AYR are decadent. I have complete trust in my teachers and love the subtle, pleasant surprise when they come to adjust me. As Chris described, the smells, sights, and sounds are a great comfort. The days I practice at home are the true test...maintaining my drishti and ignoring the renegade cheerio on the floor when all I want to do is throw it away (or flick it out of my sight) is my test as a yogi. That and not yelling at my kids during my transitions.
-Jodi
Thank you for your nod of "approval" this morning. I just couldn't slow down my mind enough in practice, so after Namascara (SP?) A and B, I stopped. It has taken me a long time to be ok with stopping if it isn't right and honoring what is going on. Forgiving myself for the hecticness and toxicity of life to weave its way into my pure practice, but it happens sometimes!
ReplyDeleteI love getting adjustments in practice, but I also love not getting adjustments. It is the ebb and flow of practice. I do not ever feel like I have lost out or that it was not worth it for me to go to the studio that day. What I love more than adjustments is the energy in the room. The healing and loving atmosphere and listening to the breath. It is so soothing and feels like home. I am so thankful that we have a yoga studio and a practice that feels so good!!
Hooray for being able to post anonymously! (I don't have any of the listed i.d.s) I like practicing at the studio, but I love practicing at home too. I've been doing the home practice thing for many years--and I find myself striving too much in the studio. At home, I just sink into the poses and chill. When I'm done with home practice I have noticed there is a completely different energy at work, which I find strange, and I'm always working to relax more when I'm in a studio. The message is that sometimes I put more pressure on myself to perform when I'm in a public space. I think sometimes that if I practiced with adjustments every day I might "progress" more, but I am not sure that's even the case these days. Adjustments are great though--and I have heard from many teachers that yoga practioners like to be adjusted b/c folks need/like to be touched. So for me it's all good--the hard work that happens in the studio and the relaxed--less stress kind of practice that happens at home.
ReplyDelete